Bon Jovi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Nuvola apps edu miscellaneous CH4.svg
 This article is being edited by students as part of a class project. Please assume good faith. If there are any problems, you are encouraged to contact an administrator. More information can be found here.
Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi in Montreal in 2007 during the Lost Highway Tour
Background information
Origin Sayreville, New Jersey, United States
Genres Hard rock, glam metal, pop-rock
Years active 1983–present (hiatuses from 1990-1991 and 1997-1999)
Labels Island, Mercury, Mercury Nashville
Website www.bonjovi.com
Members
Jon Bon Jovi
David Bryan
Tico Torres
Richie Sambora
Past members
See: Band members

Bon Jovi is an American hard rock band from New Jersey. The group is fronted by lead singer Jon Bon Jovi and was founded in 1983. They are one of the world's most successful rock bands in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s with over 120 million sold albums.

Contents

Band history [change]

The first years [change]

Jon Bon Jovi in 2006

The 1982 written and recorded song "Runaway" by Jon Bon Jovi reached the first place in a radio talent contest in 1983. So he became the possibility to sign a recording contract. Consequently, he founded Bon Jovi in 1983 with Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Alec John Such and Tico Torres. The self-titled debut album "Bon Jovi" was released in 1984. The single "Runaway" was the band's first hit and reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984.

"Slippery When Wet" [change]

Bon Jovi's second album "7800° Fahrenheit" had only moderate success.In fact, every member of the band had lost their girlfriend at the time, they were all heartbroken; those feelings were showing in the songs. Jon personally hated this record and didn’t want to perform these songs live, the band wasn't going anywhere and some members, especially Richie were afraid because they had not put out a single hit since runaway, if the band would have had to split, this would have been a good time.[1] The band then went to Vancouver to record another album; they lived together while they were recording.[2] In 1986 the third album "Slippery When Wet" was released. It brought the worldwide breakthrough with international hits including "Livin' On A Prayer", "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "Wanted Dead Or Alive". Significantly involved in this success was Desmond Child, who wrote many of the songs. "Slippery When Wet" has sold over 26,000,000 copies since its release in late 1986. The following Slippery When Wet Tour let become the band even more famous in Europe and North America. The song Livin’ On A Prayer is the one that had the most success, it was their first big hit and it is still popular now days. In the beginning, Jon didn't like the song, he refused to put it in the Slippery When Wet record, Richie Sambora convinced him that the song was good. They rewrote the entire musical piece together, added a guitar solo, different drum fills and a talk box to make it a hit song.[2] This single was also the cause of a big singing problem for Jon. In fact, before they put the record out, Jon told Richie and the producer that he would not be able to sing the last chorus of the song without some alternate tunings on the guitar because it was too high for his vocal range. They even had to play the instrumental track slowly when they recorded Livin' On A Prayer so that Jon would be able to hit all the notes perfectly in the last part. Richie and the producer convinced him to think about the live performance later and to put the song out as it was. Since he started to make music when he was a young boy, Jon always wanted to be the best that he could in front of the crowd, he gave everything he had to sing the whole song during the first part of the Slippery When Wet tour and he completely destroyed his voice.[3] He was barely able to sing at the end of the tour and he had to use a lot of backing tracks to fill out the parts that he couldn’t sing anymore. He was also using the services of a vocal coach to help him finish the tour without losing his voice completely.[2] At the end of the tour where they have played 206 shows all around the world, the band members were sick of each other and they took a break before going back in the studio to make another record.[4]

The 1990s [change]

After the enormous success with "Slippery When Wet" and the following tour, Bon Jovi released their fourth album "New Jersey" in 1988. It was also successful and contained the hit "Bad Medicine" and the ballad "I'll Be There for You". Between 1990 and 1992, the band members went their separate ways for a while. Jon Bon Jovi released his first solo album "Blaze of Glory", that served as the soundtrack for the movie "Young Guns II". In 1992, "Keep the Faith" was released. The album signified a music genre change. Bon Jovi turned away from heavy drums and wild guitar solos, and their new sound was smoother and calmer than in the eighties. The piano had a bigger influence now and the lyrics had a more serious meaning. The song "Keep the Faith" is about social and religious problems. The singles "Bed of Roses", "Keep the Faith" and "In These Arms" reached the Top 40 in the United States.
In 1994, Bon Jovi's first best-of-album was released: "Cross Road". It includes the hits from 1983 till 1992 and two new songs. One of them, "Always", became one of the most successful songs of Bon Jovi. "Always" is a love song and a power ballad completely written by Jon Bon Jovi. The 1995 album "These Days" was the band's sixth studio album. The sound is calm and the lyric content is very serious. "This Ain't a Love Song" was the lead single of "These Days" who sold over 11 million copies all around the world.

"Crush" and "Bounce" [change]

From 1995 till 2000, Bon Jovi had a longer break. The band members focused on solo projects and family. In 2000 the first album after 5 years was released: "Crush". The album itself was not as prosperous than "Slippery When Wet" and "Keep The Faith". But the hit-single "It's my Life" became the most successful song of Bon Jovi. It reached the first place in the charts of many countries. The next disc was "Bounce" in 2002. It's affected by the September 11, 2001 attacks. "Bounce" was not very successful.

"The Circle" [change]

"The Circle" was released in 2009. They were on tour in 2010 in places like New Jersey. It consists of songs like "We Weren't Born To Follow", "Thorn In My Side", and "Bullet".

"What About Now" [change]

Their newest album "What About Now" was released in 2013.

Discography [change]

  • 1984 - "Bon Jovi"
  • 1985 - "7800° Fahrenheit"
  • 1986 - "Slippery When Wet"
  • 1988 - "New Jersey"
  • 1990 - "Blaze Of Glory" (Jon Bon Jovi)
  • 1991 - "Stranger In This Town" (Richie Sambora)
  • 1992 - "Keep The Faith"
  • 1994 - "Crossroad"
  • 1995 - "These Days"
  • 1997 - "Destination Anywhere" (Jon Bon Jovi)
  • 1998 - "Undiscovered Soul" (Richie Sambora)
  • 2000 - "Crush"
  • 2001 - "One Wild Night Live 1985-2001"
  • 2002 - "Bounce"
  • 2003 - "This Left Feels Right"
  • 2005 - "Have a Nice Day"
  • 2007 - "Lost Highway"
  • 2009 - "The Circle"
  • 2010 - "Greatest Hits"
  • 2012 - "Aftermath Of The Lowdown" (Richie Sambora)
  • 2013 - "What About Now"

Members [change]

Richie Sambora in Dublin, May 2006

Current members [change]

Touring Members [change]

Former members [change]

  • Alec John Such - bass, backing vocals (1983-1994)
  • Jeff Kazee - Additional keyboards, backing vocals (touring musician 2003-2007)

Other Websites [change]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bon Jovi

References [change]

  1. ↑ Bon Jovi: Vh1:Behind the music, season 3 episode 35, original airdate 2000/06/11, Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyRfMRVUeq4 Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vzn_soHj70 Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU9u2j9gD_8 ,Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAqXRlDPVrs.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Inside The Actors Studio - Bon Jovi, season 16, episode 2, original airdate 2009-11-16, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSej55T_M28V.
  3. ↑ “Jon Bon Jovi Biography“ http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/Jon-Bon-Jovi/biography/, 2013/01/09.
  4. ↑ A+E Networks, “Jon Bon Jovi Biography”, http://www.biography.com/people/jon-bon-jovi-9542512, 2013/01/09.
Retrieved from "http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bon_Jovi&oldid=4361742"